Rubber-shoe attachment



(No Model.)

J. VAN AUSDALL & B. A; DOLAN.

' RUBBER SHOE ATTAOHMENT.

Patented Aug. 27, 1889.

N. PETERS, Hmm-Limu n her, wmingxon. D. c.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN VAN AUSDALL AND BERNARD A. DOLAN, OF KEOKUK, IOlVA.

RUBBER-SHOEATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 409,717, dated August 27, 1889.

Application filed March 6, 1889. Serial No. 302,129. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN VAN AUSDALL and BERNARD A. DOLAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Keokuk, in the county of Lee and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rubber-Shoe Attachments; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to attachments for overshoes or rubbers; and our object is to produce a fastening device which will socurely hold the rubber upon the shoe and at the same time can be readily released from engagement with the shoe.

\Vit-h these ends in View our invention consists in the peculiar features and combination of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of an overshoe or rubber applied to a shoe and provided with ourimprovcd attachment; Fig. 2, a side elevation,in which the clip is shown withdrawn from the heel of the shoe.

The reference-letter A indicates an ordinary overshoe or rubber, at the rear lower portion of which is riveted or otherwise secured a spring plate or clip 13, having its lower end sharpened, as shown at b. This sharpened lower end is adapted to impinge upon and engage the heel of the inner shoe and hold the rubber securely in place until released, as hereinafter described. The rivet I), which secures the spring-clip, also passes through and firmly holds in place the upper end of a grooved metallic piece O, which extends down the outside of the rubber to the heel of the same, where it is bent inward at a right angle and its inward extremity made into the shape of an arrow-head, as shown at c. This lower portion is forced into the thick rearward portion of the heel of the rubber, and its end,being made in the shape of an arrow-head, is held securely from being withdrawn by any ordinary pressure brought to bear upon it. The inner end 0 is provided with a perforation 0, through which a peg may be driven to hold the metal piece 0 more securely.

A bell-crank lever D is pivoted between the sides of the metal piece 0 a little above the sole of the rubber. The free end (Z of this lever projects a sufficient distance from the shoe to be easily manipulated, and its inner end 6 is secured to a wire or link F. This wire passes through a slot E in the metal piece C and through a perforation gin the rubber, and is then attached to the lower end of the springclip. The rubber will surround the wire tightly, and thus form a water-tight joint.

The construction of our device having been set forth, we will now proceed to describe its operation. As the heel of the shoe is forced down into the rubber the spring-clip is forced back, and therefore has a constant bearing against said heel, so that the sharpened portion of the clip will enter the heel of the shoe and prevent the rubber from slipping off. Now, when it is desired to remove the rubber, the wearer presses down upon the free end (Z of the bell-crank lever, as shown in Fig. 2. This operation will release the clip B from the heel of the shoe through the medium of the inner end c of the lever and the connecting wire or link F. After the clip has been so released, the bell-crank lever can be employed as the ordinary lug for removing the rubber. The slot-E in the piece C is made of sufficient length to allow free play to the wire F.

It is evident that instead of the grooved metal piece 0 aflat piece could be employed, and that many other slight changes which might suggest themselves to one skilled in the art could be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention; hence we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction shown; but

\Vhat we claim is 1. The combination of a lever pivoted on the outside of the shoe, a spring-clip secured on the inside of the shoe, and a suitable connection between the two, substantially as described.

2. In an attachment for overshoes, a clip secured within the shoe, a strip extending down the outside of the same, a lever pivoted to said strip, and a suitable connection between said clip and said lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN VAN AUSDALL. BERNARD A. DOLAN. lVitnesses:

A. L. PARSONS, T. H. MoCLEARY. 

